Carpe Chaos

Carpe Chaos News Roundup (May 4th, 2012)

Sat, 05 May 2012 03:20:39 +0000

Things have been moving a little slowly since WonderCon and the Kickstarter, but I'd say it's about time for another update dump. Here's all the latest:

Our kickstarter failed.

Darn it! We don't get to make a concept art book :-(. We may try another kickstarter campaign again next year, if we can gain enough fans. Not for another concept art book though... We want to make a master TOME of Carpe Chaos comics, if you all want to fund it. So we'll see what happens.
But cheer up! I just finished updating the free wallpapers page to include a 7th wallpaper, and the two papercraft models we've made. All for free! Yeah! It is now the freebies page, and it's got so many freebies it needed to be split into two pages! >>BEHOLD<<

And here's what the new wallpaper looks like (it's from Transmissions from Fara Nexa):

Speaking of Transmissions from Fara Nexa, chapter 2 of Transmissions from Fara Nexa is complete! Chapter 3 is in production currently, and while we wait we have the final chapter of The Myth of Midigan coming up on May 7th! It's looking like it will be 23 pages, so starting on May 7th we'll do a 6-pages-per-week update schedule, finishing the entire Midigan story on June 1st. I hope you are as excited as I am about that! A huge battle scene is coming :-)
You may have heard about the Graphicly changes a couple of weeks ago. Graphicly is no longer trying to make its own reader apps for every device in existence and instead is going to focus on taking comics from creators and making them available in all of the different marketplaces from the iBookstore to the Nookstore (or whatever they call it). Here are many more details. Graphicly still has their stuff available on their website and in the facebook plugin like we have on our facebook page, too. This doesn't mean much for us really... We have 20 of our chapters in the iBookstore and 11 of them are free, so go check them out I guess? And Jailing Fortune is still in all of the places I mentioned last time (The Amazon store for Android, The Goolge Play store for Android, and The Barnes & Noble store for the Nook).
More stuff about Graphicly: Chapter 4 of Midigan and Unwelcome Emissary were added at last!
Carpe Chaos Ignition was reviewed on buyindiecomics.com. A happily favorable review! Also I noticed we were mentioned again on La Cueva Del Lobo. Thanks Lobo!
You may have noticed some new ads in the comic viewer on CarpeChaos.com. Specifically, ads for Nathan Sorry, Princeless, and Super Massive Black Hole A*. Great graphic novel projects, all of them. Got something you want to advertise? Hit me up!

-Jason

Transmissions from Fara Nexa Chapter 2

Tue, 01 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

A Brief Art Break

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 03:09:22 +0000

Just wanted to take a minute to show ya'll some of the art we're working on. Leo, the artist who made our portraits on the staff page is putting together some concepts for Kaean clothing. Here's my favorite:

-Eric

Transmissions from Fara Nexa Chapter 1

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:00:02 +0000

Transmissions (Volume 1)

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:00:01 +0000

A besieged Porg colony pleads for help, but who's listening?

Bedra is the government-assigned military advisor for the only Porg colony on Fara Nexa. But when the situation starts to deteriorate, he's thrust into the leadership position he never wanted. Will Bedra be able to fend off the Astaver-Dovars and keep his colony standing while he waits for help to arrive?

Transmissions from Fara Nexa is the first volume of the Transmissions saga. It chronicles the string of disasters that befall the Porgs (and Garnams) on Fara Nexa. The story was written by Eric Carter and the lavish artwork was all done digitally by Anthony Cournoyer.

WonderCon 2012 happened, and we were there!

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:16:05 +0000

Hey everyone,

Eric and I were at our table at WonderCon in Anaheim this past weekend. I got sick and missed Saturday, and Eric had to work on Friday, but together we made sure at least one of us was there for the entire show. I was really glad to meet everyone I did, and if you didn't see us at this show hopefully you'll catch us at a show in the future! Eric will be at San Diego Comic Con this year and I'll hopefully be at APE! I'm still recovering from the show and worrying about the last few days of our Kickstarter campaign, so I'll keep it short this time and just post some pictures:

Jason Bane presents: Carpe Chaos

Eric Carter demonstrates how to read a comic book for the uninitiated.

A Kaean papercraft model! Finally, you can make a Nate to go with Pieca.

A dynamic shot of our 11.5 foot long printout of Strength in Numbers.

Eric on the left, and Jason on the right, at the end of the show. Who wouldn't buy comics from these guys?!?!

-Jason

Carpe Chaos News Roundup (March 14th, 2012)

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:18:57 +0000

MY PRECIOUS FEW BLOG READERS: I HAVE TWO URGENT NEWS ITEMS FOR YOU!

Our Kickstarter campaign is ⅔ over but not even at ⅓ of the required funding. As I write this we're sitting at 29% and I'm hoping that you guys will be able to help. Please tell your friends about the Kickstarter campaign! The book will be so amazing if we get the chance to make it!
WonderCon starts Friday in Anaheim and I will be there all 3 days at small press table 59. Eric will be joining me on Saturday too. I'll be selling all the same stuff PLUS our 6 wallpapers as posters and all four chapters of Jailing Fortune in print! If you go, come see me for a free papercraft model! We have a Kaean one now too :-)

And now for your regularly scheduled news bulletins:

In addition to the Graphicly apps, our entire Jailing Fortune story is now available for Android phones and the Barnes & Noble Nook directly. Pretty cool, right? And only $2.99. If we sell a significant amount, we'll consider publishing more of our comics this way. Here are the links:
Midigan Chapter 4 and Unwelcome Emissary haven't been added to Graphicly yet. But they will both be there in a few days, hopefully!
The final part of my making comics checklist was posted to MakingComics.com last month. Here's the article!
We've started Transmissions, which is really big news. Unlike all of our stories so far, Transmissions is huge. The first volume will be 4 chapters, and then following volume 1 we'll dive into volume 2 and then 3. Anthony Cournoyer is rocking it harder than he's ever rocked it before, and the story is full of gun battles, spaceship wars, and oh-so-much suspense. This is the blockbuster Carpe Chaos story we've been planning for a long time, so check it out! Chapter 1 finishes at the end of this month and then we'll be posting chapter 2 right away during April!
Do you remember all those Carpe Chaos wallpapers we gave you for Christmas? Now you can get some physical copies! We've turned all 6 of them into posters and they are now live in our web store in the Posters category. Here's the link.
I must mention our Kickstarter campaign again. Please help us spread the word! Here are some of the blogs that have featured us so far:
- ComicRelated.com
- La Cueva Del Lobo
- TGT Media
- io9.com (this one crashed our website when it was posted)
- ComicAttack.net
- MakingComics.com
- conceptships.blogspot.com (this one revealed several never-before-seen Carpe Chaos ships, and a follow-up post here revealed even more. A third post with even more ships is coming soon, too)
- StashMyComics.com
I've been posting updates to the Kickstarter campaign with additional artwork, messages from the artists that work on Carpe Chaos, and more. One particularly cool update included a video of Eric interview footage that didn't make the final video cut:

If there's anything you can do to help us spread the word about our Kickstarter before it expires, please help! Thank you!

-Jason

Nate Kaean Papercraft assembly instructions—now with pictures!

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:17:00 +0000

Did you get a Nate Kaean paparcraft model somehow? Well you've come to the right place. Together with Pieca, you can make both main characters from Jailing Fortune IN 3-D!

1. Cut out all the separate parts.

2. Make sure you know what's what!

3. Fold the toes and limbs in half.

4. After ensuring the halves are properly aligned, glue 'em up.

5. Fold the sides of the head along the middle strip.

6. Fold the top of the middle strip extending from the top of the head to form a Z shape.

7. Inwardly fold the two triangular flaps atop the sides of the head.

8. Along the fold lines, outwardly fold the two rectangular flaps at the bottom of the sides of the head, where the neck would be.

9. Apply glue to the backside of the section just above/behind the face.

10. Stick the triangialr flaps onto the aforementioned section.

11. The head should look something like this.

12. Inwardly fold everything along the middle strip of the body.

13. Along the fold line in the middle of the back, fold outwardly.

14. Along all of the other fold lines on the body, fold inwardly.

15. Apply glue to the backside of one of the sides of the body.

16. Stick the flaps along the middle strip to aforementioned side of the body.

17. Repeat for the other side of the body. Use the opening in the bottom as needed for applying pressure.

18. Apply glue to the bottom flaps of the head.

19. Stick it on the body, as shown.

20. Apply glue to the top-inside of the upper arm with the rock.

21. Stick it on the body in the designated area.

22. Repeat for the other upper arm.

23. Inwardly fold the flaps atop the lower arms.

24. Apply glue to aforementioned flaps.

25. Stick 'em on their designated areas on the body.

26. Cut small slits at the base of the legs, where the toes would go.

27. Apply glue to the top-inside of the forelegs.

28. Stick 'em on their designated areas on the body.

29. Repeat for hindlegs.

30. Fold the front part of the rock and insert the toes into the feet.

31. High-five nate (be gentle, he's made of paper).

-Leo

Unwelcome Emissary Chapter 1

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:00:02 +0000

Unwelcome Emissary

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:00:01 +0000

Marines struggle with providing security on a hostile planet.

For a Kaean ambassador and his escort, an assassination attempt is just another day on Suulmalla; Turikasuul aren't known for their diplomacy. But in the wake of the attack, how do the Kaeans cope? How can they remain dedicated to a mission of peace with a species that attacks them at every turn?

Unwelcome Emissary looks at the tough situations soldiers face when stationed in enemy territory. The story was written by Eric Carter, and the amazing pictures were painstakingly eked into being by Daniel Allen.

Kickstarter Campaign: Carpe Chaos Concept Art Book

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:17:07 +0000

Hellooooo blog readers! I just finished prepping our Kickstarter campaign, and it has launched! It is now live!

What we're trying to do is create a concept art book of all of the artwork that we made when we were building the Carpe Chaos universe, and since. There are lots more details on our Kickstarter project page, which I really hope you'll look over. Here's the widget and the video:

You can also get there using the shorter link carpechaos.com/kickstarter. I hope you'll support us!

By the way, Unwelcome Emissary is all set to finish at the end of February and we'll start another new story during the first few days of March. And we'll be at WonderCon during March 16-18!

-Jason

Carpe Chaos News Roundup (February 1st, 2012)

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:04:41 +0000

Happy new year, and also happy Chinese new year to you all. Carpe Chaos had a good end-of-year vacation and a great January publishing pages of The Myth of Midigan. The news has really been piling up so allow me to let you in on all the latest:

Chapter 4 of Trading Tales: The Myth of Midigan is done, it's live on the site, and you can read it for free right now! The story will conclude with a Chapter 5 that we are planning to publish in April, if we can get it done that quickly. Things are reaching a climax, and if you loved that page spread at the end as much as I did, you can get it as a desktop wallpaper here:
You may have noticed CarpeChaos.com was down on January 18th. We were one of the more than 100,000 sites that voluntarily went dark or otherwise altered our front page to protest the American censorship bills SOPA and PIPA. It had a huge impact and this article sums up the fallout pretty well.
The indie comics blog Panel Bound did a big feature on us while we were on our vacation. They posted a writeup on Carpe Chaos on December 30th, and then on January 3rd they posted an interview they did with me, Eric, Anthony, and Joe. The interview turned out great, so click here if you want to learn more about how Carpe Chaos got started and how we make comics together.
I rewrote the Advertise With Us and the Parental Advisory pages on the site to be more useful.
- For the Ad page, I finally published some rates! If you want to add your full-page ad to the rotation in our digital comic books, you can do it for a scant $5 per month. And if you buy 10 months you get 2 more for free! Contact us!
- For the Parental Advisory page, I made a list of all of our stories with my best guess as to whether they'd be OK for kids or not; I even consulted some actual parents. Let me know if you disagree with any of them. You can also use the links on that page if you want to grab the direct link to a specific story on the Comics page. Example: Reinvention.
Jailing Fortune Chapter 4 has been added to Graphicly! Now you can own all 4 chapters of Jailing Fortune in your digital Graphicly library, and you can let Graphicly guide you through the pages with their special flow mode. Here's the preview:
Speaking of Jailing Fortune, now that the story is done we're looking into making it available as a digital e-book on the Amazon Kindle Fire, in the Amazon Android App Store, in the Barnes & Noble Nook App Store, in the Apple Newsstand, and in the Kobo eBookstore. No promises yet but if we can get into that many eBookstores it would be pretty awesome! If we succeed, and if the comic does well enough, we'll put our other stories in those places too. Jailing Fortune and the rest of our stories are already available in Graphicly, which itself is available on several mobile devices, and we're still (slowly) working on our own iPhone & iPad app to show off our comics in a different way. Big plans, slow progress.
Printing the 6 new wallpapers as posters is taking a little longer than originally planned but they should appear in the store in the next week or two. I'll post another update when they're ready!
WonderCon is less than two months away! It's in Anaheim on March 16-18 this year, and we'll be there in the small press area for all 3 days. I'm already getting excited... it's been a few months since our last show! And we'll have some new stuff: the final chapters of Jailing Fortune as floppy comics and the 6 desktop wallpapers as posters. I try to keep our conventions page up-to-date so if you go there you can see our upcoming convention plans.
I'm working on setting up a Kickstarter campaign for a book of Carpe Chaos concept art. It's our art the years we spent building the Carpe Chaos universe before we began making comics. We're still chasing printer quotes and producing the video (every Kickstarter campaign needs a video, right?) but if we can pull it off I hope to launch the campaign by the end of February. We have SO MUCH concept art that we want to show off, and a book of concepts seems like the best way to do it. We're really hoping people will back the project, not just because of the cool perks/rewards we have planned but also because the book is going to be killer. I mean, look at the concepts we have just laying around. For example, we have over 130 spaceship concepts. Why did we make so many?! I don't know! But we are putting them in this book! Expect another update from me on this in a month or so.
Speaking of crowd-funding campaigns, Amya is running an Indiegogo campaign to fund the printing of the third chapter of the series. If you haven't heard of Amya before, give it a look and consider contributing to get the books!
February's gonna be pretty awesome. Starting on February 4th we're going to update with a new page every single day until the new chapter is complete on March 1st. This new one-chapter story is illustrated by Daniel Allen, it features both Kaeans and Turikasuul, it's 27 pages long, and the cover looks like this:

-Jason

Trading Tales: The Myth of Midigan Chapter 4

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:02 +0000

Stealth Mode Vs. PIPA

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:03:21 +0000

Carpe Chaos is joining that great big horde of people who are going dark on January 18th in protest of SOPA and PIPA. Basically a bunch of big corporations are asking the US government to give them the power to shut off whatever part of the internet they want. That includes Carpe Chaos.

Well, if they want the internet dark so bad, a bunch of sites are getting together to show everyone what it'll be like. Carpe Chaos is going to join the blackout as well. If you want to know more, watch this video.

-Eric

Jailing Fortune Chapter 4

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:00:02 +0000

Trading Tales: The Myth of Midigan Chapter 3

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:00:02 +0000

Reinvention Chapter 1

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:00:02 +0000

Reinvention

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:00:01 +0000

Hooligans inspire a retired Porg inventor to redeem himself.

All Juljak wants is to be left alone. But when a gang of unruly kids threatens his hopes for tranquility, the retired inventor takes matters into his own hands. And when his confrontational tactics fail to earn him a respite, the reclusive Porg decides to take a different approach.

With the sunny world of Karlan as a backdrop, Reinvention explores the measures people can take to escape their innermost demons, and the peace that comes with facing them instead. All of the gorgeous artwork in Reinvention was digitally composed and painted by Daniel Allen, and the story itself was spun by Ted Anderson and Jason Bane.

Jailing Fortune Chapter 3

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:00:01 +0000

Trading Tales: The Myth of Midigan Chapter 2

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 08:00:02 +0000

Trading Tales: The Myth of Midigan Chapter 1

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 08:00:01 +0000

The Myth of Midigan

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 08:00:01 +0000

A valiant hero strives to save his village from obliteration.

A traveling bard retells an ages-old myth for two young farm children to pay for his supper. In this popular tale from ancient Porg lore, a rebellious peasant named Midigan is captured by the wicked King Puscilis and locked away in a magical tower of coral. Will Midigan find a way to escape his prison and protect his village from the King's advancing army?

Joe Slucher created the style and all of the pages for the mythological meat of this story, while Anthony Cournoyer drew and colored the modern-day scenes. Jason Bane and Eric Carter wrote the script.

Rising Up Chapter 5

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:00:01 +0000

Jailing Fortune Chapter 2

Sun, 01 May 2011 08:00:01 +0000

Rising Up Chapter 4

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:00:01 +0000

Door to Door

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:00:01 +0000

A missionary sparks an exchange between pen pals.

A traveling Porg missionary fights despair and rejection as he searches for brothers to join him in his faith. An artifact of his proselytization lies dormant for years, but upon rediscovery sparks an enlightening discussion between a contrasting pair of bookshop owners.

Set mostly on Artacuse and beginning in Embarnik 4, Door to Door touches on the trials of spreading a religion and compares the religious history of the Porg fringe religion Montarism with Lhytanism, the spiritual foundation of all modern Kaean civilization. The visual artwork for this story was created by Joe Slucher, and the story was written by Eric Carter and Jason Bane.

Jailing Fortune Chapter 1

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:00:02 +0000

Jailing Fortune

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 08:00:01 +0000

Two aliens escape from prison without a way to communicate.

Presented with an unexpected opportunity for escape, an unlikely pair of prisoners work together on their precipitous journey toward freedom. Can the Porg and Kaean fugitives evade capture long enough to make it off the planet when each can't even understand the other's language?

This story is set in the year Embarnik 60 on an out-of-the-way planet near a colony founded primarily to imprison the convicts of other settlements. Drawn, inked, and colored by Anthony Cournoyer, and written by Eric Carter.

Rising Up Chapter 3

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:00:01 +0000

Filter Dregs Chapter 1

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:00:01 +0000

Filter Dregs

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 07:00:01 +0000

A team of Kaeans looks for the cause of a recent extinction.

A Porg parent scares his son with some frightening truths, and a team of Kaean colonists investigate the suitability of a recently unoccupied planet. This story poses the question: "Why, with so many opportunities for intelligent life in even a single galaxy, are there so few space-faring species?" And it posits an answer.

Filter Dregs is an exploration of the concept of the Great Filter, which is the obstacle that limits the number of enduring, space-colonizing civilizations. It was written by Eric Carter and Jason Bane, and drawn and painted entirely by Anthony Cournoyer.

Rising Up Chapter 2

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:06:15 +0000

Rising Up Chapter 1

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:26:03 +0000

Rising Up

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:26:02 +0000

Can a young girl rescue her mother from kidnappers?

Feilin's mother is one of her clan's respected elders, and when she is kidnapped right in front of Feilin, Feilin is powerless to help. How can anyone deal with such a tragedy, one that is all too commonplace on Suulmalla at this time? In this case, a recent innovation may be of some use.

A Turikasuul coming-of-age tale, presented in multiple parts, set before Turikasuul had access to modern technology. Drawn and painted by Daniel Allen. Story by Jason Bane and Eric Carter.

Rurban Sprawl Chapter 1

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:00:02 +0000

Rurban Sprawl

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:00:01 +0000

Helmut is riding on his segway, when something happens!

Once upon a time (Turikasuul 296 to be precise), a Porg by the name of Helmut went for a joyride on his segway. And then, something happened. When you read it, you won't believe what happens!

This is one of several short comics we made for practice when we were starting out. The artwork is all by Jonny Klein, and the events in sequence are all by Eric Carter.

An alternate version by Anthony Cournoyer is available for free through Graphic.ly.
An alternate version by Daniel Allen is available for free in the iTunes App Store.
Daniel Allen's version also appears in Carpe Chaos: Ignition.

Strength in Numbers Chapter 1

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:00:02 +0000

Strength in Numbers

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 07:00:01 +0000

A mother teaches her son a piece of their forbidden culture.

A leisurely stroll becomes an opportunity for a mother to pass down a small part of her cultural heritage to her son: she teaches him how to count in the old-fashioned way of their ancestors. But they must be careful, lest the Xotron discover their resistance to the "homogenization" occurring during this time period.

This story is set on the Turikasuul homeworld of Suulmalla and takes place during the time when the Xotron occupied all of that planet. Daniel Allen expertly illustrated and painted this story in bright, rich, digital watercolors. Story by Eric Carter.

Worst Case Scenario Chapter 1

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:00:02 +0000

Worst Case Scenario

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:00:01 +0000

Is the monster in the window a nightmare? Or something else?

It's bedtime for a young Kaean girl when a monster appears in the window. She calls out, but her mother won't believe her! In the end it's just as well; her parents can't protect her anyway. Not from this.

Worst Case Scenario is set in a young Kaean colony on a planet a good ways away from their home planet of Bairyth (depicted in a painting in this Kaean family's living room). Eric Carter wrote the story, and Daniel Allen brought it to life.

Hard Lessons Chapter 1

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:00:02 +0000

Hard Lessons

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:00:01 +0000

A young soldier tries to impress a respected war general.

An aged, pregnant warlord renowned for her ferocious nature deals with separation anxiety, both from her war and her sister, while her young escort chats more than she would prefer.

This story takes place on the Turikasuul homeworld Suulmalla and shows off the rainy, seasonally-flooded environment rife with wildlife and tide pools. The visuals were drawn by Anthony Cournoyer, and the story was written by Jason Bane and Eric Carter.

Moments of Elation Chapter 1

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:00:02 +0000

Moments of Elation

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:00:01 +0000

Face-to-face with the divine, two Kaeans reflect on life.

A pair of Kaeans don their space-proof strength suits and trek to the outer reaches of The Oursal to admire the view and commune with god. Their journey embodies the ongoing endeavor for meaning and spiritual guidance shared by nearly all Kaeans, though an outside observer may see their ritual as little more than a serious hike.

This contemplative story showcases the stunning artwork of Anthony Cournoyer and the unique environment of the Kaeans. Written by Eric Carter and Jason Bane.